This invention relates to process for the preparation of fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles. In another aspect, this invention relates to novel fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles.
Various methods have been employed to prepare fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles. Each method suffers from drawbacks which prevent the large scale use of the method for the preparation of such articles. Thus, for example, hot melt application of thermoplastic to a reinforcement material is a very energy consuming process since large quantities of thermoplastic resin must be maintained in the melt form during resin application. Solvent application methods introduce the consideration of restricting exposure of both worker and environment to solvents. In addition, considerable process time and energy must be spent driving off excess solvent remaining after resin manipulation is completed. Another problem frequently encountered in the preparation of fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles is the nonuniform contact of thermoplastic resin with reinforcement, thereby resulting in a nonuniform fiber reinforced thermoplastic article.